“Frail Grounds” premieres this Tuesday night at The State Theatre

Frail Grounds, a yearlong film created by 40+ Bellisario students, is having its official premiere at the State Theatre on Tuesday, April 30 at 8 p.m.

The 20-minute short film follows the main character Margot, who wakes up to a world unfamiliar to her. She wakes up in a field, confused about how she got there. Her older brother, Tyler, whom she has not seen for a while comes up to her. He takes her back to their childhood home, a summer cabin, where the oldest sister, Adira, awaits. The three siblings start catching up, and the older sister asks, “How did you die?” This sends Margot on a journey to find an answer to that question.

Film director Abby Tarpey is a senior majoring in film production with a minor in photography. She created Frail Grounds for her COMM 448 and 499—the most intensive film courses offered in Bellisario.

Since sophomore year, Tarpey knew she wanted to direct a film. “I was a little crazy and started [Frail Grounds] a little early. I’m not typically a writer. This was my first time where I helped write. I co-created the story,” she says.

She then partnered up with Kyle Raynor, the writer for Frail Grounds, to devise a plot together.

“With my photo minor, I got into film through photography and through other mediums of art. All of my photo work focuses on gender so typically that was one of the requirements for Kyle. It has to be a female lead,” Tarpey said.

The film touches upon themes surrounding life and death and mental health as Margot attempts to find the answers as to why she died. Margot questions her purpose on Earth and grapples with the question — should she go back to life again?

When creating the film, Tarpey and Raynor had multiple conversations as to how they could portray those complex themes as the storyline touches on some intense and thought-provoking topics, shedding light on the darker aspects of the human condition.

“I feel like a lot of student films focus on whether they’re technically well done…versus Kyle and I wanted to do it respectfully. It’s more of a challenging issue,” Tarpey said.

Tarpey hopes that Frail Grounds, “…Brings up a conversation for people who don’t normally like to talk about mental health…” as it can be done poorly. “I wanted to not tell people what to think but essentially open the floor for a conversation about it.”

“Frail Grounds is a story about independence, mental health, death and life, but at its core it’s a story about family,” Tarpey said.

It is not just Margot, but the other characters are complex too. Katherine Dinsmore, a senior majoring in theater and public relations, plays the eldest sister, Adira.

“The first thing that stands out to me about Adira is she tries her best and she means so well, but sometimes her actions come off the wrong way. She has so many layers and exploring different angles or perspectives was something so exciting about this role,” says Dinsmore.

When preparing for her role, Dinsmore curated playlists on Spotify featuring Lana Del Rey tracks and other songs with a slower, soulful vibe. By listening to those songs as she got ready on set, she was able to mentally inhabit the character of Adira.

“To me, she [Adira] is the embodiment of fear and anxiety and how everyone feels those emotions but put into a person,” Dinsmore said. “For some of the scenes, they were pretty intense so I did have to prepare for those, but I did find a part of me in her.”

Dinsmore recounts feeling challenged when portraying Adira during some tumultuous, heavy scenes: “There were definitely some shoots that were pretty heavy and I had to take a moment to get there, but the cast and the crew were so amazing. They let me sink into Adira and find her with a couple of takes. I found myself after a few takes, feeling her a little bit more.”

While there were challenges in portraying Adira’s character, Dinsmore does not regret her decision and finds the whole experience rewarding. Adira is a character that she will remember for a long time due to her complexity.

Dinsmore strongly encourages the audience to see Frail Grounds this Tuesday night: “I think you should see this film because it’s not only beautiful, has visual effects and has a great story, but it’s really going to make you feel something.”

Emily Lin is a first-year majoring in communications. To contact her, email eml6121@psu.edu.